November 8, 2010 - 9:37pm
The "Ugly Loaf" Thread
I think it is time for a new "Ugly Loaf" thread, and I'm going to start it off. Here is a picture to prove my worthiness, and I'll refer you to my blog entry here for the rest of the story.
Do you have an "Ugly Loaf" you are willing to add to the collection here? I sure hope so because I'm felling a little lonely here all by myself right now. :)
Looks awful, but tastes great!
OldWoodenSpoon
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Only it had straps. Stood up on its own too. This must be the "naturella" organic push-up exemplar. :)
Seriously, this portion of a fertility goddess could pass for granite or some glaciated rock. I bet they don't look so ugly separated. (.) / (.) Ouch! A painful thought?
I'll go looking in my ugli-bread file...
but Mini O. beat me to it :)
I have plenty to share when it comes to ugly bread. Judy
LOL, Mini!
I haven't been baking long enough to produce photo-worthy uglies, other than having some loaves come out rather flat and pale, but I'm sure I'll get my chance to contribute to this thread!
It doesn't look at all ugly to me. M#y loaves often result like that, in fact since I often bake three free-form loaves on one sheet I get a clover-leaf bread. It doesn't make any difference to the eating and that's what matter.
but I love them
for example-I forgot to score that one-and I had the loaf with the beard
http://bochenkowo.blogspot.com/2010/10/halloween-baking-cookies-from-bread.html
Here's the Psaimese Twin Psomis.
They tasted great.
Glenn
Thanks all, for the additions to this thread, and especially for the pictures! It is said that "misery loves company", and "misery" of course, along side of "ugly" in this thread, is meant in all good humor. As I tell my wife often, "Think rustic, with a capital "R"!" Mary Fisher and Glenn have it right: they taste great and that is what matters. Glenn, those are two nice looking loaves/twins! I also share your sentiment, Przytulanka: pretty or not, we love them, and that picture you shared is great. A loaf with true character. I'm still going to give one of mine to a friend that I know will not judge it by appearances.
Keep the pictures coming!
OldWoodenSpoon
Wish I'd photographed one I called 'The Hamster' that was born into this cruel world a few months ago. Alas, he was devoured without recorded evidence of his existence. RIP.
Happily (I think), I have only to go back to my underproofed period to find a worthy contribution to this thread. Voila!
I call this one 'The Clog'...
Cheers! Ross
This was my less-than-stellar effort trying to make 'pumpkin breads' for the first time!
...from breadsong :^)
Those things look like landmines! I wish I took pictures of the baguettes that I made a couple of weeks ago ...the hydration was way too high and I made them way too long for my stone. I arranged them on the stone in a squigly shape to make them fit, and the oven spring still pushed them off the ends of the stone ...the result was an ugly snake with a burnt head. I was going to throw them away, but my wife ate them... :)
Ha ha, I hadn't thought of landmines, but if the shoe fits...these really were bricks, heavy little things...so I stacked them like bricks for the photo. :^)
But they sure are ugly.
Just baked these improvised cinnamon-chocolate-pecan rolls. Overfilled them, baked them too hot. They are a mess to look at but a joy to eat. I swear I did not bake them for the sole purpose of showing off on this thread.
Glenn
I've got a bunch of them, but this one is pretty nasty looking.
Franko
I have deleted the photo I had posted here -- the result of late night posting...:)
Reminds me of one of my favourite quotes, attributed to legendary Australian bush poet/short story writer, Henry Lawson:
"Beer makes me feel how I should feel when I haven't had a beer."
Not that I'm suggesting late-night posting has anything to do with earlier imbibing in your case! :)
Cheers
Ross
I stay away from beer. Wine, vodka, gin, rum and whiskey...well that's another story. :)
Well, I think that's still in the 'spirit' of Henry's meaning!
Ain't choice grand?
I can't believe I'm back here so soon! This poor loaf had nearly everything bad that can happen, happen. I started out by forgetting to put semolina on the peel. Then, I did not get the loaf onto the peel all the way, and it had a leading edge hanging down a little. Next, I came into the oven a little low, and scraped that leading edge along the hot stones. The loaf stuck to the stones, which were 525F, and that turned the loaf to creamy mush between the stones and the bottom of the peel. Now, I can't even get it to move because it is stuck so well. I can't reach any tools, and I can't put the peel down. So, in desperation I used my teeth to remove my heavy leather oven glove on one hand and I "pushed" the loaf off the peel and onto the stone. Mostly. Sort of. Not really.
This was the second of two loaves baking together under the roasting pan lid, so I put the lid on, and set the timer. After 15 minutes I reached in and picked up the lid, which felt a little heavy. I looked more carefully , and there was no bread on the stone! It was hanging suspended inside the roaster lid! Both loaves! I set the lid upside down on top of the stove on a couple of hot pads. One loaf came free pretty easily, leaving only a small patch of crust stuck hard to the pan. This loaf hung on tight. I had to carve it loose with a pancake turner while holding on, and thereby crushing it, with the gloved hand. There was more than a little bit still stuck to the roaster lid when I put both loaves back in the oven and finished the bake.
It is a shame to punish a loaf of bread so harshly. It is amazing to me that it does not look worse than it does. Crushed, torn and mangled, it looks pretty good on one side. The other will probably be a mashed, doughly loss. Well, loss to me. Gain to the birds.
Let the loaf say the rest...
I made sure it was done on the side not too crushed, but I don't have much hope for the crushed side.
Poor ugly loaf. Fruits of not taking my time. I had it coming, but that poor loaf did not. It is nice though, after viewing all the great contributions to this thread, to know I am not alone!
OldWoodenSpoon
Looks like Picasso baked that loaf in his cubist phase
More like Lewis Carroll in his "Through the Looking Glass" phase, don't you think? :)
OldWoodenSpoon
...i had some issues with getting evenly distributed oven spring. it kind of looks like it has a small beak.
All homemade bread is delicious. They say that the ugliest fruits taste the best.
I don't think there can ever be "bad bread". Even if it doesn't look good.
I have had several bakes come out of the oven stuck together.
Happy Baking!
Well said, Jo Pi.
I prefer variety to uniformity anyway. And I wonder what a blind eater would say to any of the pictures?
Mary
Now we can post pictures of our bread, too.
Pam
No pix, bad photographer, but..Was shapping Challah into "knot" shaped rolls, but didn't get some right. They looked like a roll with it's tongue sticking out.
Pam
Thanks for sharing and making me laugh!! I, too, have had my share of exploding breads..every last crumb still devoured though! I usually take photos of my pretty ones...maybe I won't be so shy with my not so pretty ones:)
Mira
New guy wants to play here's my champion for now...this little mutant came from deciding I didn't slit deep enough on the first loaf. I was not pleased with the result.
Charles
This is what happens when you blithely load a second loaf into the oven while talking on the phone. The back baguette, which was on parchment paper, slid off the back of the stone and wrapped itself around the heating element (catching the parchment paper on fire). There wasn't much I could do but wait for it to form a crust and pull it out with tongs. And I'm supposed to bring bread to a dinner party tonight.
Winner so far in my book! LOL
sorry
half-dead and blackened vidalia onion I unearthed yesterday from the depth of the vegetable crisper :)
Wish I had kept pics of my many misfits.
I can't say their torching bothered me so much.
It would take another couple hundred or so to figure out how to shape them correctly (I was using 1/2 the amount of dough and stretching them like they were in Pilates).
...for those wondering what they were supposed to be. ;)
in hospital labs, post-surgery ;)